Loughborough Students 7 v Blackheath 15.

A dour game, the conditions made sure of that. Blackheath's previous visit to the university campus in September 2013 had produced a game with 93 points (the Club leading by 37 at half-time and then hanging on to a seven-point advantage at the final whistle!) but, on this occasion, torrential rain which, thankfully, relented in time for kick-off ensured a heavy surface, making both sides look leaden-footed, and made for countless handling errors.

Nevertheless, Blackheath will be reasonably satisfied with a comfortable away win, even if they might feel their control of the game was enough to give them a greater margin of victory.

Indeed the visitors got off to a dreadful start. Within four minutes, Loughborough's first attacking line-out saw Students' scrum-half Henry Taylor dummy his way all too easily around the fringes of the maul to open the scoring and, with fly-half Josh Sharp's conversion, give the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Blackheath needed a line-out steal from skipper Tom Bason to thwart another Loughborough opportunity soon after, but gradually the visitors hauled themselves up the campus slope. With Aston Croall switching to tight-head, and a fit-again Bertie Haskins on the loose-head side, the Club gained an edge up front which helped secure the territorial advantage, and on 33 minutes Dave Allen was driven across from line-out ball which, with Ryan Squires' conversion, gave parity at the break.

Playing downhill, however, saw Blackheath rarely threatened during the second period, and early pressure after the interval gave the Club a lead they never looked likely to relinquish.

Allen found himself pulled back for accidental off-side, but as Nik Grier found Bason with another line-out in the Students' twenty-two on 48 minutes, Simon Whatling's cross-field hoist was met bravely across the goal-line by an aerial Ben Summers, coming up from full-back, for the crucial try.

Frequent kicking duals ensued and Loughborough looked to Sharp and Jack Pons at full-back to lift the pressure by breaking out of defence. But it came to little, and a Squires penalty on 64 minutes, after the Students illegally halted a drive led by the ever-excellent Richard Pike, moved Blackheath clear.

The win sees Blackheath move above Richmond to fifth place in National League One. Next Saturday they host Old Albanian at Rectory Field, kick-off 3.00 pm.

Loughborough Students.

Tries: Taylor.

Conv: Sharp.

Blackheath.

Tries: Allen, Summers.

Conv: Squires.

Pens: Squires.